Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure
| Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 16, 2000 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 38:22 | |||
| Label | Zoë Records[1] | |||
| Producer | Juliana Hatfield | |||
| Juliana Hatfield chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 35/100[2] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [3] |
| Robert Christgau | [4] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A[5] |
Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure is an album by Juliana Hatfield's trio, Juliana's Pony, released on May 16, 2000.[6] It was released the same day as Hatfield's solo album, Beautiful Creature.[5]
Production
The album was recorded as the trio of Hatfield, Zephan Courtney and Mikey Welsh, dubbed Juliana's Pony. Although inspired by Hatfield's months-long stay in Los Angeles, the album was made in Austin, Texas.[7] The songs "Total System Failure" and "Leather Pants" use the same music with different lyrics. Welsh co-wrote four songs.[8]
Release
Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure was released on the same day as Hatfield's solo album, Beautiful Creature.[9] A collectors' edition of both albums was also simultaneously released. It contained a third enhanced CD that included a Juliana Hatfield screensaver, a photo gallery consisting of six pictures, a web link to Hatfield's webpage at Zoë Records, a cover of The Police's "Every Breath You Take", "When You Loved Me" (Mex Mix) and an open letter from Hatfield to her fans.[10][11] The letter read as follows:
I was living in Los Angeles. I seemed to have fallen for an image (deep down, I'm really shallow). It was so beautiful. His eyes were black. But as I walked down my street, all the neighborhood dogs seemed trained to attack. And the sun was like a deathray.
This is a dangerous business. People aren't always what they seem, even when they think they are telling the truth. All motivations are hidden.
I had planned on staying a year, but after six months, I became restless enough to leave. Always wanting to be somewhere I'm not, content only when en route. Music sounds better in a moving car.
Where am I now? I'm still here. In between. Thank you for asking. Without you, I may have ceased to exist.
Juliana Hatfield
Critical reception
Exclaim! wrote that "this is Hatfield at her funniest and most bitter, heaping bile on boy toys ('Houseboy'), All About Eve ladder-climbers ('My Protegee'), teenage girls in SUVs ('Road Wrath') and overly fertile families ('Breeders')."[12] Trouser Press wrote: "It’s easily the weakest album in her career and sounds even worse when compared to the subtle path of Beautiful Creature, although there is something mortifyingly fascinating about the utterly disastrous tone in which Hatfield portrays her life and loves."[13]
Scripp's Howard News Service's Mark Brown ranked both Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure and Beautiful Creature as #5 on his list of the top 10 albums of 2000.[14] While it generally received less favorable reviews than Beautiful Creature, The Pitch's Scott Wilson, who didn't particularly like either, called it "ham-fisted and uncompelling, however, Beautiful Creature might be worse."[15]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Juliana Hatfield, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "White Thrash" | 0:15 | |
| 2. | "Metal Fume Fever" | Hatfield, Mikey Welsh | 2:00 |
| 3. | "Houseboy" | Hatfield, Welsh | 2:44 |
| 4. | "Road Wrath" | Hatfield, Welsh | 3:36 |
| 5. | "Let's Get Married" | 2:30 | |
| 6. | "Breeders" | Hatfield, Welsh | 2:54 |
| 7. | "My Protégée" | 3:43 | |
| 8. | "Total System Failure" | 3:12 | |
| 9. | "The Victim" | 2:50 | |
| 10. | "Using You" | 4:11 | |
| 11. | "Leather Pants" | 2:52 | |
| 12. | "Noblesse Oblige" | 4:00 | |
| 13. | "Ten Foot Pole" | 3:35 | |
| Total length: | 38:22 | ||
Live versions of "My Protégée" and "Ten Foot Pole" also appear on Hatfield's Live Album The White Broken Line: Live Recordings.[16]
Personnel
- Juliana Hatfield – guitar, vocals
- Zephan Courtney – drums
- Mikey Welsh – bass, backing vocals
Production
- Producer: Juliana Hatfield
- Engineer: Brian Brown
- Mastering: Brian Lee
- Photography: Juliana Hatfield, Mikey Welsh
References
- ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4. MUZE. p. 175.
- ^ "Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure by Juliana Hatfield". Metacritic. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
- ^ "Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure - Juliana Hatfield | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
- ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: juliana hatfield". Retrieved October 3, 2016.
- ^ a b "Beautiful Creature and Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure". EW.com.
- ^ "Juliana Hatfield | Biography & History". AllMusic.
- ^ "Juliana Hatfield Pursues Two Paths to Satisfaction". mcall.com. The Morning Call. June 23, 2000.
- ^ Dominic, Serene (June 8, 2000). "Hatfield's the Real McCoy". Phoenix New Times.
- ^ "Juliana Hatfield: Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure". The A.V. Club. March 29, 2002. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
- ^ "Pearl Jam Simply Keeps On Grunging". Lakeland Ledger. June 9, 2000.
- ^ Hatfield, Juliana (May 16, 2000). "Beautiful Creature / Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure". Discogs.
- ^ "Juliana's Pony Total System Failure". exclaim.ca.
- ^ "Juliana Hatfield". Trouser Press. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
- ^ Brown, Mark (December 28, 2000). "Tunes From the Barrel's Bottom". The Vindicator. p. D1.
- ^ Wilson, Scott (August 24, 2000). "Juliana Hatfield; Juliana's Pony". The Pitch.
- ^ Deming, Mark (June 26, 2007). "The White Broken Line: Live Recordings Review". Allmusic.